Edmonton (Canada) (AFP) - Canada’s province of Alberta was voting Monday on whether to hold a binding referendum on independence, testing national unity as the country faces threats from US President Donald Trump.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has in recent days argued Alberta’s vote is being held “at the worst possible time,” urging Canadians to rally together to confront Trump’s trade war and annexation threats.

Polls indicate less than a quarter of people in the oil-rich western province want independence, but the result may partly hinge on turnout, with the separatist camp seen as highly motivated to vote.

There were no long lines outside polling stations on a chilly morning in the provincial capital Edmonton, but Alberta’s elections authority said 1.4 million of the 3.1 million eligible voters cast advance ballots.

After voting at a hilltop polling station, David Gallagher told AFP an independent Alberta was a “silly idea.”

“I want to stamp it down and stop it,” the 58-year-old said.

Hayden Chann, a 21-year-old student, told AFP he doesn’t personally support independence but voted with the separatist side this time, because he wants people to have “the real option to really vote.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, a conservative, has said she is voting against independence but called the referendum to settle an issue that has divided the province.

If a majority votes to separate, she has pledged to move forward with a binding referendum.

If the federalists win, Smith says the secession question should be considered closed.

- Foreign influence? -

Alberta has the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserves, and much of the separatist momentum has been driven by anger over oil industry management.

Smith has blamed Carney’s predecessor Justin Trudeau for igniting the separatist fire, accusing him of trying to crush oil production to advance his pro-climate agenda.

Alberta’s independence push has also drawn sustained interest from Trump allies.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called Alberta a “natural partner” for the United States. Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and a top Trump supporter, posted on X this month that Alberta “should separate.”

Separatist leaders have also held meetings at the US State Department and met with Republican political operatives.

Cody Porter, a 48-year-old actor, told AFP after voting in Edmonton that the country needed to “present a strong front as Canadians against what is very clearly interference from other governments,” but declined to offer specifics.

- ‘Huge uncertainty’ -

Carney, who grew up in Alberta, has worked to improve relations between the province and Ottawa since taking office last year.

He has partnered with Smith on advancing a new pipeline to export more Alberta bitumen overseas, a project considered a nonstarter during Trudeau’s tenure.

But he has also warned Albertans that even a nonbinding vote on independence would be a “dangerous bluff,” drawing on his experience during Brexit, when he was the Bank of England’s governor.

“It wasn’t clear what ‘Brexit’ meant at the time,” he told a Calgary television station last week.

“While that was being determined, there was huge uncertainty, investments stopped” he added, cautioning over unintended economic consequences.

Haley Erdegard, a 44-year-old who voted in Edmonton, voiced discomfort with the idea, advanced by some separatists, that Alberta is forced to share too much of its oil revenue with the rest of Canada.

“The whole point of privilege is that if you have more than somebody else, you’re supposed to share,” she told AFP.

“I think we probably need to put some more work towards cooperation before making rash decisions about trying to start our own country.”